posted January 29, 2010 03:54 PM         

He couldn’t stand another night with that smug hookah.

The things that once so defined him —
shag carpeting, Room & Board sofas, monogamy —
now suffocated him.

It was unclear how her life had become so riddled with obvious metaphors.

posted January 29, 2010 03:55 PM         

Her most significant relationships were with dead designers.

And one day, a ladder appeared.
Julien climbed with guarded optimism;
could this be the way out for which he’d been searching all these weeks?

He tried to focus on the novel,
and not how much his bedroom reminded him of a plywood coffin.

posted January 29, 2010 05:21 PM         

Maybe it corroborates my point of view,
to imagine them as hollow and unfulfilled.

posted January 30, 2010 01:46 PM         

2nd couple - contemplates whether or not to run to home depot and get more lighting for their dining room. they work hard and want thier home to be comfortable and clean and an expression of themselves.

3rd woman - is a writer who lives by the water because it brings peace to her soul and stimulates her creativity.. she loves the open feeling of the windows and light in her home and wroks every saturday at the shelter feeding the poor...and is very thankful that she is blessed.

3rd guy - testing a new solar powered ventalation system that may benfit mankind with green power, testing 1 2 3 testing.

4th woman - enjoys her mountain retreat where she gets close to God and nature and waway fromt he hustle and bustle of her city life which regenerates her spirit. she beathes in the cool mountain air and enjoys her time in nature.

julian - can't wait for his friends to come over and play with him, his room is clean and ready for fun!

book reader - is a missionary who likes to read and cherishes his alone time. his whole life is dedicated to serving others in impoverished countries.

and lastly - a happy family relaxing on a saturday afternoon.

i mean why does everyone who lives a lifestyle they work hard for have to have a pathetic life? whose to say they are reaping the rewards of thier hard work and enjoying every minute of it..there is nothing wrong with that. they made the sacrifices that enable them to do that..why should it evoke any emotion or judgement from anyone? it shouldn't. it isn't thier problem, it is the problem of the people who have issue with it.

i would hate to have people saying about me, look at her, she's got it made, and they know nothing about me or my life or my sacrifices and if i own nice things i don't owe anyone an explanation. and if they judge me or my life, they are just wrong. and that is thier issue.

it is fair and just to reap the rewards iof what you sew, and it has no bearing on how giving or kind you are to others and the measure taken to help a brother out, but people don't know by looking at the cover of a book what it really contains. there is nothing wrong with living well.

posted January 30, 2010 04:23 PM         

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1st guy - looks out upon the ocld terrain wishing he could find a job and move out of his parents, although they have a cool place. the winter is as desolate as the job market for a humanities major. contemplates laying off the hookah to pass drug testing.

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1st guy - Resolves not to move out of his parents house since they are happy to have him and it would mean leaving (empty and unused) rooms which have required considerable resources and effort to erect, in order to inhabit rooms which will require additional resources and effort to erect. Realizes that the inability of his contempories to adequately appreciate and remunerate his contributions does not make them insignificant (on the contrary, the less his work is valued and understood, the more valuable and necessary it becomes), -- nor does it oblige him to do something less meaningful, less fitting, and less agreeable, in order to conform with the errors and illnesses of his culture. Dismisses the thought of laying off the hookah in order to pass fascist drug tests that punish one of the most harmless and beautifully mind-expanding and feminizing gifts of nature. Wonders why hundreds of billions of tax dollars have been spent on suppressing this plant, which has no recorded fatalities or significant harmful effects, while alcohol, which has killed (how many people? -- not just including those who use it, but those who get hit by drunk drivers, beaten to death by a drunk, etc.), and fueled countless instances of violence and crime, does not suffer the same stigma, is legal, and is not tested for.

And so on.

Love that you quoted Ecclesiastes. There's a lot in the Old Testament that may help your cause. I recommend you give more attention to the New Testament. You know, the one where the "Son of God" says, "If you want to have treasure in heaven, sell all that you have and distribute it to the poor."

Maybe you can get something out of these:

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Another issue facing proponents of meritocracy is the arbitrariness in the definition of merit, and what qualifies as such. Who decides or judges what is considered to be merit is another challenge for some forms of meritocracy, and can lead to the centralization of power into the hands of a few judges or officials who decide upon such...

Notice that merits can be given among a group of individuals with the same background and flawed schooling. Imagine language professors with the same minority background miss-crediting students with a better feeling for the language as a whole. For another example imagine an astronomer who can calculate the positions of the planets and is merited for it. This highly merited astronomer can very well believe that the planets are dots or flat and miss-credit other astronomers who suspect that these planets are spherical. Many similar examples of highly merited individuals can be found (also in science-history) who have promoted only other individuals with whom they share the same view with and therefore "know" will in their turn merit them back.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meritocracy#Criticism

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posted January 30, 2010 04:24 PM         

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"Every mode of life has its conveniencies. The Idler, who habituates himself to be satisfied with what he can most easily obtain, not only escapes labours which are often fruitless, but sometimes succeeds better than those who despise all that is within their reach, and think every thing more valuable as it is harder to be acquired."

"Among those whom I never could persuade to rank themselves with Idlers, and who speak with indignation of my morning sleeps and nocturnal rambles; one passes the day in catching spiders, that he may count their eyes with a microscope; another erects his head, and exhibits the dust of a marigold separated from the flower with a dexterity worthy of Leuwenhoeck himself... Some register the changes of the wind, and die fully convinced that the wind is changeable."

"Whatever diversion is costly will be frequented by those who desire to be thought rich; and whatever has, by any accident, become fashionable, easily continues its reputation, because every one is ashamed of not partaking it."

"I suppose every man is shocked when he hears how frequently soldiers are wishing for war. The wish is not always sincere; the greater part are content with sleep and lace, and counterfeit an ardour which they do not feel; but those who desire it most are neither prompted by malevolence nor patriotism; they neither pant for laurels, nor delight in blood; but long to be delivered from the tyranny of idleness, and restored to the dignity of active beings."

Johnson says that everything people really need is plentiful and easy to reach. It is only when people strive for things beyond their reach that they have difficulty.

"Thus plenty is the original cause of many of our needs; and even the poverty, which is so frequent and distressful in civilized nations, proceeds often from that change of manners which opulence has produced. Nature makes us poor only when we want necessaries; but custom gives the name of poverty to the want of superfluities."

"He that writes upon general principles, or delivers universal truths, may hope to be often read, because his work will be equally useful at all times and in every country; but he cannot expect it to be received with eagerness, or to spread with rapidity, because desire can have no particular stimulation: that which is to be loved long, must be loved with reason rather than with passion. He that lays his labours out upon temporary subjects, easily finds readers, and quickly loses them; for what should make the book valued when the subject is no more?"

"Yet there are some works which the authors must consign unpublished to posterity, however uncertain be the event, however hopeless be the trust. He that writes the history of his own times, if he adheres steadily to truth, will write that which his own times will not easily endure. He must be content to reposite his book, till all private passions shall cease, and love and hatred give way to curiosity."

Johnson says that although wealth is now a universal goal, it cannot buy any more happiness than it did when poverty was thought to be virtuous. He illustrates this point with the story of Tom Tranquil. Tom inherited a huge fortune when he came of age, and his friends set about spending it for him. He is, however, utterly indifferent to their choices.

"A companion, who had just learned the names of the Italian masters, runs from sale to sale, and buys pictures, for which Mr Tranquil pays, without inquiring where they shall be hung. Another fills his garden with statues, which Tranquil wishes away, but dares not remove. One of his friends is learning architecture by building him a house, which he passed by, and inquired to whom it belonged; another has been for three years digging canals and raising mounts, cutting trees down in one place, and planting them in another, on which Tranquil looks with a serene indifference, without asking what will be the cost. Another projector tells him that a waterwork, like that of Versailles, will complete the beauties of his seat, and lays his draughts before him: Tranquil turns his eyes upon them, and the artist begins his explanations; Tranquil raises no objections, but orders him to begin the work, that he may escape from talk which he does not understand."

"But experience is the test by which all the philosophers of the present age agree, that speculation must be tried; and I may be, therefore, allowed to doubt the power of money, since I have been a long time rich, and have not yet found that riches can make me happy."

"Though the Idler and his readers have contracted no close friendship, they are, perhaps, both unwilling to part."

~ Samuel Johnson, "The Idler" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Idler_(1758-1760)

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posted January 30, 2010 04:29 PM         

by Bertrand Russell

Like most of my generation, I was brought up on the saying: 'Satan finds some mischief for idle hands to do.' Being a highly virtuous child, I believed all that I was told, and acquired a conscience which has kept me working hard down to the present moment. But although my conscience has controlled my actions, my opinions have undergone a revolution. I think that there is far too much work done in the world, that immense harm is caused by the belief that work is virtuous, and that what needs to be preached in modern industrial countries is quite different from what always has been preached...

I want to say, in all seriousness, that a great deal of harm is being done in the modern world by belief in the virtuousness of work, and that the road to happiness and prosperity lies in an organized diminution of work.

posted January 31, 2010 12:11 AM         

Regardless of whether these people are miserable or not, misery is a temporary condition, AND it's not necessarily the result of perceived societal errors and ills.

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I recommend you give more attention to the New Testament. You know, the one where the "Son of God" says, "If you want to have treasure in heaven, sell all that you have and distribute it to the poor."

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Noted: Not even Jesus stopped materialism.

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"But experience is the test by which all the philosophers of the present age agree, that speculation must be tried; and I may be, therefore, allowed to doubt the power of money, since I have been a long time rich, and have not yet found that riches can make me happy."

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Mr. Johnson lacked imagination if he could find nothing to do with his money that would make him happy. If he failed to figure out how he could use his money to further his goals it seems to me he must be either stupid or unable of acheiving happiness at all.

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posted January 31, 2010 12:45 AM         

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it wasn't about you valus.

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Of course not.

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i was just saying maybe they are contemplative rather than miserable. thats all.

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They probably are contemplative.

The comments were poking fun.

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it is so judgemental to think because they live well or have a nice home they do not contribute to the indigent of society or thier life is empty.

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I agree.
Do you assume I disagree?
Maybe you misunderstood.

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maybe they are careful with thier money and perfer quality things and budget carefully, maybe they live in a nice place but have given thier lunch money for the week to someone who needs it more than they do. for a heat bill or food.

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This is all possible, cpn,
but, as far as quality goes,
the things I see there look more
"for show" than "built to last".

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please reconsider being so judgemental.

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Do you even know what my "judgment" is?

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it seems as if you are jealous.

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Really? What makes you say that?
Are you sure you're not just randomly
fishing to find a despicable motive?
Because I think my motives are good,
and I've made them more than clear.

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you don't have to cut others down
to feel good about yourself.

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Neither do you.
But it's not about that.
It's about a level playing field.
It's about values that correspond
to what I feel in my heart of hearts.
I can only tell it as I see it, and
you are free to take it or leave it.

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you are perfect how you are and just maybe they are perfect how they are. you don't have to justify yourself nor do they. acceptance of yourself and others is really a beautiful thing.

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I'm far from perfect, and so are they.
Acceptance isn't about looking the other way.
It's about admitting faults, and working with them.
And it's about defining what is or is not a fault.
If having and communicating reasons for your position
is "justification", I'd love to see others do more of it.

"Bob is the most formidable disputant of the whole company; for, without troubling himself to search for reasons, he tires his antagonist with repeated affirmations. When Bob has been attacked for an hour with all the powers of eloquence and reason, and his position appears to all but himself utterly untenable, he always closes the debate with his first declaration, introduced by a stout preface of contemptuous civility. 'All this is very judicious; you may talk, Sir, as you please; but I will still say what I said at first.'"
~ samuel johnson

posted January 31, 2010 01:04 AM         

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I agree. It is judgmental.

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Good. We're all in agreement, then.

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Regardless of whether these people are miserable or not, misery is a temporary condition, AND it's not necessarily the result of perceived societal errors and ills.

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We continue to agree, AG.

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Noted: Not even Jesus stopped materialism

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But Superman made the world spin backwards.

Seriously, though, what's your point?

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Mr. Johnson lacked imagination if he could find nothing to do with his money that would make him happy.

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I'm so glad you said this. Because it gives me an opportunity to inform you that, if people can find nothing to do without their money that would make them happy, they lack imagination. Isn't imagination, after all, something you entertain yourself (and others) with for free, rather than something that "inspires" you to find something more costly to entertain you?

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If he failed to figure out how he could use his money to further his goals it seems to me he must be either stupid or unable of acheiving happiness at all.

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Well, he had no difficulty acheiving his goals. He wrote the first Dictionary single-handedly (or single-mindedly), and received for it both money and honors from the nobility. I believe the honors and the sense of a job well done made him happier than the funds. But even that kind of happiness, like misery, is temporary.